Skip to main content

Bike Ride

(photo from PhotoXpress)
My cold seems to be over...not so bad. On Wednesday I pulled a bicycle out of the shed and took it to the bike shop to get air in the tires. Thursday, I took it out for a ride--first time on a bicycle in at least twenty years. You know how they say that you never forget how to ride a bike though.


I had a bike as a kid, of course. As an adult, I got a ten speed bike for one of the 30's birthdays from my first husband. We did some riding with the kids and all, but I never really did get the hang of shifting the gears. The bike pretty much stayed in third gear. When I tried to change a gear, as often as not, the chain would fall off. Being able to change gears is actually a very desirable feature when riding in Vermont--the Green MOUNTAIN State. I spent enough time pushing that bike up big hills that I finally figured I should walk and leave the bike at home.


The bike here has maybe twenty-one speeds and it's actually easy to shift, but now I realize I don't really understand enough physics to appreciate the subtleties of all those gear ratios. It's flat here so it doesn't really matter that much anyway.


And it's true--you don't forget how to ride in terms of the very basics--balance and pedal. What you do forget about is how riding a bike uses completely different areas of muscles than walking and it makes your butt pretty darn numb.

Comments

  1. About a month ago My Grand Girl wanted me to go on a bike ride with her...It had been years since I had been on one...I am so fat I could not throw my leg over the seat.....I had to lay the bike down and stand across it and then sit it up....It was just as bad as I remember it being years ago...When I stopped I was able to get off of it fine, I just could not get on it....Maybe it was a mental thing...

    ReplyDelete
  2. No one ever loved their childhood bicycle more than me. I had a little dog that rode in with me everywhere in the bicycle basket. There is no flat space around me now so riding a bike now would be tough. That was the only bicycle I ever owned so riding one with 'speeds' would probably be beyond my comprehension. Every child should have a bicycle.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aw, I miss riding a bike so much. I rode all the time in Florida, nice flat roads but here in the Ozarks, like you were in Vermont, walking is the only way. Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I appreciate readers' comments so much. You don't even always have to agree with me.

Popular posts from this blog

Updates

 On September 29, I had the closing on my condo. Everything that was not going to the buyers was out and packed in the ABF moving truck which had by the been taken over to the storage units. Don thought it would take him until Wednesday to finish packing the truck with the help of his son. It took him until late Thursday with Chris' help and mine. Kevin was supposed to help load as well but he was in a mountain bike accident and wrecked his shoulder the week before. That added driving him to doctor appointments to my to do list and dong some shopping for him plus jobs around the house that might need two functioning upper limbs.  We stayed with Kevin on Friday night after the closing and then had a suite in an extended stay place for the coming week. This was the worst possible time to have to get a room because the prices balloon during leaf peeping season if you can even find a room at all. But it was close to the storage units where we were working and it was dog friendly. We ju

Wedding

 Don and I drove to South Carolina to attend the wedding of my step-grandson, Will. Will Will and Katie The wedding took place on Dataw Island, a beautiful outdoor ceremony followed by a reception in the country club. We stayed in a tiny cottage in the historic center of Beaufort, rented from Vrbo. Since the wedding was at 5 p.m., we had time to explore the area a bit. I really like the low country scenery and historical charm. Sitting quietly in the curtained gazebo I was visited by multiple cardinals. They came to visit the feeder, not me, but I can always pretend! How I will always remember Will!

Rest In Peace

 In a summer that has been so wet, Sunday was a reprieve. The humidity dropped and the sun came out. It was a day that could have been special ordered by the family of a friend's husband. It was the day they had arranged his celebration of life ceremony set on the shore of Lake Champlain. I was not looking forward to the gathering, even couched as a celebration. This is a family fraught with relationship tensions. It turned out to be a beautiful day and a beautiful ceremony. A Catholic priest gave a brief but meaningful homily and two Air Force members played "Taps" and presented the American flag to my friend. I am not a Christian, but I do know about Christ Consciousness. That priest's word's filled me with such a sense of peace and love. I hope it did the same for the family members and neighbors who attended.